Lessons and Reflections from 12 months out of the corporate world

Just over 12 months ago as part of an attempt to become more responsive and nimbler the company I had a career that spanned over my 20’s 30’s and the 1st year of my 40’s made my existing position redundant with the only options on the table:

·????????A job that was nowhere near a good fit my passion or strengths

·????????The potential to apply for a few other jobs that felt like they probably hadn’t been thought through enough to get decent traction in for at least 6 months

·????????OR a brown envelope of cash. (Not as much as I would have got if I hadn’t taken a break several years ago but still pretty generous)

?I consulted a few of my trusted confidants which includes some remarkable people I am blessed to have in my life and the decision was unanimous. Get out and try something new. ?All the cliches came out to play “one door closes another opens” “magic happens outside your comfort zone” “it’s the best decision you will ever make” etc. Once the decision was made the feeling was a crazy roller coaster of emotions ranging from the lows of existential grief from losing a sense of purpose and identity, sacrificing a salary and leaving the tribe behind to high including euphoric hedonistic excitement for a probable future without quotidian meetings and often gruelling bureaucracy and work politics. ?

A year on after a healthy blend of some meaningful consulting for an awesome company, varied pro bono work and self-imposed down time with my young family I have decided to pull together my ponderings on the key learns and the themes that have become abundantly clear as I reflect into my low carb beer in the pool a year on:

1.??????Embrace being part of a high performing team…. It can give you great motivation and a sense of purpose

The buzz you get from doing GOOD WORK and the intimate connection that gives you to awesome people is priceless. This is especially true when you are striving towards a shared goal. Lean into it, learn as much as you can, be curious and provide your best work to any projects you become part of. That sense of contributing to something that has some meaning where the outcomes are tangible is a privilege many people do not get. My most sellable skills have come from the graft and experiences that come out of hard work.

2.??????There is big world out there….Do not define yourself by your industry or job

I remember during one of the most torrid times of my career after returning from sunny, laid-back Australia to the hustle and bustle of south west of the UK being sat in standstill traffic on the rainy dull M25 and calling a good friend of mine for yet another free counselling session. I was on the phone with my head in my hands wondering what I had done. That conversation completely changed my life. I remember my friend saying in his thick Welsh accent “look at the cars all around you and then look at the drivers. Not one single one of them works for the same company as you and probably never will. There’s a big world out there and although your job and company feel like everything right now…it really isn’t”. He was right. We think we are pigeonholed into our industry and career, but we are not. So many skills are transferable, and we can add value in so many places. -Dare to dream.

3.??????Don’t allow yourself to burn out……You health is the most important thing guard it with your life

I remember being on little weekend get always or out on an evening date with my wife in wonderful places before our two crazy little kids came along. The sad thing is I also remember occasionally getting worked up because I could not resist reading or answering emails that I now know didn’t really matter trying to please a boss by showing my commitment thus never being fully present in the magic of the moment. When I think back about it boy do I cringe! The old adage that, in corporate, you are just a number is sadly true. Do good quality work to contribute appropriately, develop yourself and sharpen your skills but remember that you alone are responsible for your happiness. Set some healthy boundaries around you and your family, decide some no go areas and make time for the simple yet important things.

4.??????Good is the enemy of great……Salaries often make you way to complacent

Magic happens outside your comfort zone and salaried rolls are generally quite comfortable unless you are out of your depth in a new role or doing more than you should. To truly realise what you are capable of and make yourself fully accountable for every action and every minute of work you need to shed the corporate skin and do something completely different where your success and results are fully defined by the effort and passion you put in. I’m not saying life out of the comfort zone is for everyone in fact on my journey through different roles and organisations I have seen people who are extremely happy knowing/hoping that up until retirement they know roughly how much money will be coming in and what they will be doing for the next 35 years BUT if you feel you want to do realise your full potential get creative and curate your own future based on what you love.

5.??????Screw imposter syndrome….Stop worrying about what people think of you

This one might hit a little different for you but I’m going to give you my slant on things. We live in the era of the individual. Where YOU and your personal brand are the most important thing. Work on your self-belief and be the most authentic version of yourself that you can be. That does not mean be obnoxious or confronting. It means back yourself and believe in you WHY. In my vast experience no matter how much passion energy and enthusiasm you put into your role there will always be someone who doesn’t quite get you or understand your motivation for trying to make positive change in the world. I know it’s a big cliché but this says more about them than you regardless of their position in the organisation.

6.??????Make the effort to always keep a diverse tribe around you even during a pandemic

Hands down the thing that I miss the most from my years in an organisation are the people. You can never fully recreate that sense of community when you leave a big company and go out by yourself.

-Morning Justin! Cup of coffee?

-Oh Flat white please Justin, I’ll get these … that’s a lovely shirt…..

Doesn’t quite have the same ring to it and people start to look at you a bit crazy.

You must however keep exercising that social muscle (in person obviously is the best). You certainly find out who your friends were…and weren’t when you leave a company. Some people remain loyal supporters and others even cheer leaders’ who you start see in a different light. Some even unofficial mentors. But don’t be surprised or offended when you realise many people will be people that fall by the wayside I have found this is incredibly rarely malicious as people are twice as busy picking up the work of others and trying to figure out what the future means for them. One big positive is that you learn who to invest your loyalty and trust in for the future helping you build an even stronger tribe.

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7.??????Generally, to many meetings tends to kill true innovation & productivity

The sad reality is big companies are incredibly tied up in processes and enormously risk averse which stifles people’s ability to implement innovative nimble ideas. It is my prediction that individual contributors who can transcend the multiple meeting culture, make decisions and follow up with timely execution will ultimately be the most successful employees of the future. Sadly, from my reflections and musings on my 20 years the larger the organisation the more levels of management, the more fear people have of making a career limiting decisions and the result is often paralysis through analysis.

Smaller more agile companies will start to thrive, especially as equity of access to intelligent inexpensive technology has become the great leveller. Companies and organisations that can get a product or solution to market fast and iterate as they go are future.

8.??????Flexible working increases productivity if you have the discipline to hold yourself accountable.

Caveat to this point is that don’t think we will ever or should ever do away with true face to face human interactions. Having been a field based or remote worker for many of the 20 years of my career I have never fully understood the need to flock through rush hour to an office. After the global pandemic the thought of it seem almost puerile and nauseating. In the last 12 months especially, I have realised how much you can achieve in a full day of uninterrupted work without meetings, coffee breaks, and the unwelcome desk bombing. If you can rid yourself of the need to procrastinate or better still factor that into your day appropriately the work, you can produce is staggering.

Embrace you differences and don’t worry what people think of you but most of all invest in you

Will I go back to a salaried corporate role? I might, I would love to see what incredible collaborations can bring as an independent contractor first but more than ever the role and company would need to be the right fit, the organisation would need to transcend hierarchy, embrace different ways of working, look for people who actively want to disrupt the old ways of working. Despite missing out on being a millennial by 9 months and having young kids, and minimal/ broken sleep I’m incredibly proud to say I think more like a millennial than a Gen X. Time to buy some cyrpto, nft’s and buy a house in the metaverse.